My third brake light never worked since I got the car. (I have a 92, so it's at the top part of the rear windshield).

One day I finally decided to fix it. I opened it up, and saw some rust/corrosion on the metal contacts where the lightbulb plugs in. So I scraped off the rust and cleaned it with some contact cleaner. Plugged the light back in, and it worked. After driving around for about 30 minutes, came back, checked it again, and it doesn't work. I can unplug the bulb, plug it back in, and it works. Come back from a drive, and it doesn't work again.

Anyone have any ideas on how to tighten up the contacts, and make sure it stays connected? I'm pretty sure the wiring is not the problem. Will aluminum foil be safe and have good conductivity? It seems a little McGyver, I'm wondering if there's a better way. Maybe solder and then file it if it doesn't fit?

 

Not sure what type bulb is in there, but I've put a drop of solder on lamp contact terminals before with good results. Using foil on the side for a better ground might help too. And put some bulb grease in there to seal it up some.